A pair of Nebraska basketball players were honored by the Big Ten Conference on Thursday. Rienk Mast and Callin Hake were chosen as Nebraska’s Outstanding Sportsmanship winners.

The Big Ten honored 36 players with the Outstanding Sportsmanship Award for the 2025-26 year. One member of each varsity sports team is nominated, and two winners are selected from each institution.

Mast averaged 13.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in 2025-26 and helped Nebraska to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. He is working out with the Indiana Pacers during the NBA Summer League.

Hake averaged 7.2 points, 3.6 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while drawing a single-season school-record 33 charges. She is also the first Husker to be a two-time Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winner across all sports after earning her first award in 2024-25.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) – Get ready for a stretch of absolutely gorgeous weather to kick off your weekend but keep an eye on the heat building as we head into next week.

This Weekend: Perfect Conditions

Saturday and Sunday are shaping up to be nearly identical — sunny skies with highs climbing to around 89 and 90 degrees respectively. A light south southeast breeze at 5 to 10 mph will keep things comfortable, though gusts could reach 20 mph at times. Overnight lows will dip to the low 60s, making for pleasant sleeping weather.

This is ideal weather for outdoor plans. Whether you’re heading to a summer event, spending time at the lake, or just enjoying time outside, you won’t want to miss it.

Early Next Week: Heat Turns Up

Starting Monday, temperatures begin a steady climb. Highs will reach 91 degrees Monday, then 91 again Tuesday before pushing toward 92 on Wednesday. By Thursday and Friday, we’re looking at highs near 94 to 95 degrees.

The good news? Skies remain sunny throughout, and humidity levels should stay relatively manageable. The breeze will be light, so it won’t feel quite as intense as it could.

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LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) – The number of abortions performed in Nebraska rose 7.8% in 2025 as the dust begins to settle on some of the state’s — and neighboring states’ — newer abortion restrictions.

According to data from the state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), at least 2,698 abortions were performed in Nebraska in 2025. That’s 197 more than 2024’s total of 2,501 abortions in one year.

Nebraska’s abortion rate has remained relatively consistent over the last two decades, between 1,900 and 2,800 procedures performed each year. However, 2,698 is the highest the state has reached since 2008, and is the third year in a row that the number of abortions performed has increased from the previous year.

The steady increase coincides with increased abortion restrictions being implemented in Nebraska and throughout the nation in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022.

In 2023, the Nebraska Legislature passed legislation restricting access to abortion from the previous 20 weeks, to 12 weeks gestation. The following year, voters approved language added to the state Constitution that bans most abortions after the first trimester.

Andi Curry Grubb, executive director of Planned Parenthood North Central States (PPNCS), said this tracks with what Planned Parenthood officials have been seeing throughout the Midwest. Though she didn’t have exact numbers for the first half of 2026, she said the pace seems to be consistent with what she saw in 2025.

Notably, the number of abortions performed on Nebraska residents actually dropped from 2,054 in 2024 to 1,968 in 2025. The overall increase comes from an influx of out-of-state patients traveling to Nebraska for abortions, most of them from Iowa.

In 2023, the Iowa Legislature approved legislation banning abortion after cardiac activity is detected, around six weeks gestation. The law went into effect in June 2024.

Giselle Barajas, senior communications specialist for PPNCS, said Planned Parenthood has seen a 220% increase in Iowa patients coming to Nebraska between 2023 and 2025. The number nearly doubled between the last year of data, growing from 358 Iowans reported in 2024 to 635 in 2025.

Nate Grasz, executive director of the Nebraska Family Alliance — a lobbying group that has supported increased abortion restrictions — said the increase in Iowa patients correlates to the state’s stricter abortion laws.

“We haven’t made as much progress,” Grasz said of Nebraska’s abortion policies.

Grasz noted there are fewer places in Iowa for people to seek abortions, saying that Planned Parenthood had closed some of its clinics. Barajas said Planned Parenthood does plan to close its Iowa City Health Center at the end of the month, but noted they still have a facility in Des Moines in operation.

Grasz said there are still serious gaps in Nebraska’s laws regarding abortion. He described the DHHS statistics as a “tragic report,” saying that every one of the 2,698 abortions reported represents a baby that went unprotected and a woman who went unaided.

Grasz highlighted that medication-induced abortions also are on the rise in Nebraska, according to the report. Medication abortions made up 83% of all abortions performed in 2025, compared to about 80% in 2024.

Grasz said Legislative Bill 512, proposed by State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue, would have been an important piece of ensuring the safety of medication abortions. The bill would have imposed additional steps before a patient could be prescribed an abortion pill, but the bill did not make it past the first round of floor debate.

Nebraska abortions by year

2008: 2,813

2009: 2,551

2010: 2,464

• Abortion ban past 20 weeks of pregnancy takes effect in Nebraska

2011: 2,372

2012: 2,299

2013: 2,177

2014: 2,270

2015: 2,004

2016: 1,907

2017: 1,958

2018: 2,078

2019: 2,068

2020: 2,378

2021: 2,360

2022: 2,547

• Roe v. Wade overturned by U.S. Supreme Court

2023: 2,325

• Nebraska Legislature approves abortion ban at 12 weeks post-gestation

2024: 2,501

• Nebraska voters approve constitutional amendment Initiative 434, banning most abortions past the first trimester

2025: 2,698

Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services